Orthopedic last



E. 1. BLISS.

omorsmc LAST.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 20 I919.

I Patented Aug. 9, 1921.

' memes.

unirsn NT o rricE-*.

ELMER J. BLISS, or Bosron, MAssAorrusE'rrs.

onrHoPEnIo LAST.

To all whom it may concern 2 Be it known that I, ELMER J. Buss, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements. in Orthopedic Lasts, of which the following is aspe'cification. e

- This invention relates to lasts for the manufacture of boots and shoes and is intended to provide a construction of'last which will insure correct relative locations 'of the inside ball, outside ball portion and theheel which form the three main supporting points of thehuman foot, 'or as it maybe termed the base or tripod of the foot;

The human foot considered as a supportmg base or pedestal for carrying the weight of the-body comprises essentially a threepoint support or tripod including the heel,

the inside' ball and the outsideball portion.

In common practice the makers of lasts for use 1n the manufacture of ready made shoes, while recogn zing or prescriblng certain standards of length and width of last block,

have usually left to theindividual judgment of the Workman turning the last the precise location or relation-ship of the outside and inside ball portions with reference to each other and to the rear or heel end of the i last. Now even if the last hasthe correct length and width for a given size foot it may still be incorrect to a very considerable extent in respect to the relative locat ons of 1 the outer and inner ball. portions to each rious difliculty by locations of these three pointsin relation to one another. The device is useful not only in indicating the proper relation-ships of these points in a given length or width of last, but also to indicateplainly any alteration in these measurements which may oc- ,cur through the shrinking or the swelling of the last block after it has been completed;

In short, to whatever cause it may be due,

too long an arch as well as too short an.

arch measurement oneither the outside or specification of LettersPatent.

; Patented Aug. 9, 1921.

Ap licants filed October 20, 1919. Serial N0 332,00 1.

" the inside of thelast frequently results from I the haphazard system of making the lasts 0r of uslng a last that was originally made with correct dimensions which have been changed bythe drying or swelling of the wooc.

To this end the present inventioincom prises generally speaking a last block prov ded wlth a fiXedg-ageof predetermined dimensions so formeda's to indicate the correct locations oftlie ball on opposite sides of the last withrelation to the heel, such device being preferablymade "of a material that is not subject'to shrinking of expansion under conditions of moisture. Incidentally the gage may be provided with a vertical extension indicating the correct form, or

curvature that should be given the lieelpor-- tion of'the last inthe central vertical plane at the rear end of the heel. other features of the invention "will be more particularly explained in this specification and willbe definedin the claims'h'ereto annexed. e.

The inventlon is applicable to the old solid These and one piece last block that is integral'from 'heel to toc as well 'as to the hinged last blocks in which the'heel portion is hingedly connected'to the fore-part. r v

' In the accompanying drawings" I have illustrated a simple and convenient form embodying the inventlon as applied to a hinged last. block in which; V

Figure 1 is a bottom planview of'ahinged last block containing the invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation partlyin section of the construc'tion shown in Fig. 1. r

In the practice of my invention as illustratedxin the drawings, the last block'comprising, in this case, the fore-part a and the heel portion Z) hingedly connected therewith is grooved to receive the gaging device which is to define or indicate the-location of the ball portionsof the opposite sides of thelast with relation to therear end of the heel, the groovesbeing made in accordance with the gaging device supplied for any particular size of last.

The gaging device itself comprises essentially a longitudinal. member d united to a transverse'member cl at its forward. end,

the transverse member being suitably dis-ff posed so that its'opposite extremities will fall at those points of the last where the ball on the opposite sides of the last should be formedwhen the rear end of the gage is suitably attached to the heel portion of the last.

The measurements of the gage will be based upon standard measurements derived from measurements of a large number of feet of a given size so as to indicatethe mean or average measurements for a given length of foot. It will of course, be understood that different feet of the same size will vary to some extent in respect to the tripod measurements. that is, the measurements from the heel to the two ball portions, but if the average of these measurements is taken it will be found that the variations. will not be of suflicient magnitude to cause any material injury or discomfort in the case of an ordinary foot that varies from the standard measurements adopted.

The longitudinal member is provided at its rear end with a vertical extension 03 which preferably is given the correct curvature that should be given to the rear end of the heel portion of the last block.

In order to permit the movement of the heel block on its pivotal joint connection with the fore-part it is necessary to subdivide the longitudinal member c Z into two parts co-incident with the vertical plane separating the fore-part from the heel part at the bottom of the last as indicated at (1 and the two portions of the gage in such case 7 are set so that their adjacent ends abut when the last isin extended position for normal use in the shoe.

In the case-of a solid one piece last block, of course such sub-division. is not required. The gages are of course made as rights and lefts since the transverse member cZ will usually extend at an oblique angle to the longitudinal member.

When the gage is set with the rearward extension (Z in position to define the heel end of the. last block the opposite ends of the transverse member will coincide with the inside ball a and the outside ball a thus securing complete standardization of these measurements from the rear of the heel. The heel plate or wear plate 0 usually provided on the heel portion of the last is, of course, sub-divided into two parallel portions as indicated in Fig. 1.

If after the last is completed any change takes place in the dimensions by the swelling of the wood it will result in the formation of a noticeable gap at the dividing line (Z In case thereis shrinkage of the wood forming the last block the abutting ends of the longitudinal member (Z will'prevent the heel from being extended to its full normal position and thereby equally indicate a change of measurement and thus serve as a warning against the. further use of the last while in that condition. in short, not only does the gaging device form an accurate means for standardizing the locationof the inside ball portions of the last, but also serves to indicate any substantial change in these measurement due to change in the last.

It is, of course, desirable in order to get the full efficiency of the gaging device that it should be made of some material like metal for example which will not swell and shrink with changes in moisture.

The gage member may be secured in the last in any suitable manner as by forcing it tightly into the grooves for its reception in the bottom of the last or by pinning or otherwise.

What 1 claim is:

l. A last for the manufacture of shoes embracing in its construction a last block and a ball determining gage member aflixed to the bottom of said last block and comprising a longitudinal member extending a pre-determined distance from therear or heel end of the block to the ball portion of the fore-part of the last, and a transverse member united to said longitudinal member and having its opposite ends located to define the correct location of the outside ball and the inside ball portions of the last, substantially as described.

2. Adast for the manufacture of shoes embracing in its construction a last block, a. gaging device secured to the bottom of the last block and constructed with three gaging points disposed in proper relation-ship to each other to indicate the correct relative locations according to predetermined measurements of the points forming the tripod of the foot, substantially as described.

3. An orthopedic last embracing in its construction a last block, a gaging device secured to the bottom thereof and comprising a longitudinal member extending from the rear of the heel to the middle part of the ball line, and a transverse member united therewith and located to coincide with the correct transverse ball line of the foot, substantially as described.

A ii.

last embracing in its construction alongitudinal member provided at one end with an upward extension to gage the heel portion of the last and having at its other end a transverse member rigidly united therewith whose ends are positioned to indicate the correct points for locating the inside and the outside ball portions of the last, substantially as described.

5. A gaging device for application to lasts embracing in its construction a longitudinal member whose rear end is adapted to be secured in the heel end of the last and a transverse member united with said longitudinal. member at the front end thereof and extending obliquely to the longitudinal gaging device for attachment to a member, the ends of said transverse member being dimensioned to indicate the correct locations for the inside and outside ball portions of the last according to predetermined measurements, substantially as deing from the rear endof the heel to the middle portion of the ball line of the last, and a transverse member united intermediate of its ends to the said longitudinal member with its ends extended to proper position to indicate according to predetermined measurement the'ballpoints of the last on opposite sides'thereof, substantially as described. v

7 An orthopedic last embracing in its construction a last block comprising a heel part and a forepart movably connected; :1

last block and comprising a longitudinal member whose rear end is formed with a vertical extension inserted in the rear end of the heel, and a transverse member unitedto the forward end of said longitudinal"v member with its opposite ends located ac cording-to predetermined measurements to indicate the correct position of the opposite 'ball portions of the last, said longitudinal member being sub-divided into two portions at the line of'separation between the heel and forepartof the last in order to permit .the movement of the heel in relation to the fore-part, substantially as described.

In witness whereof I have subscribed the above specification. i v V J. BLISS 20 gaging device secured tothe bottom of said 

